Closure device for sealing an opening in a wall of a pressurizable chamber

ABSTRACT

The combination of a pressurizable chamber and a closure device comprised of a closure member operable to close an opening in a wall of the chamber, a sealing member operable to seal the opening when the closure member is disposed in the opening and a plurality of locking members movable radially outwardly of the opening so as to lock the closure member against movement outwardly of the opening due to pressurization of the chamber; the locking members when in their locking position abutting the closure member and having portions thereof engaging in corresponding recesses in that portion of the wall surrounding the opening. The locking members may be moved automatically by means of jacks.

.11 Unite States atent 1151 3,667,649 Thillet 14 1 June 6, 1972 [54]CLOSURE DEVICE FOR SEALING AN FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS OPENING INA WALL OF A 687,708 6/1964 Canada ..220/55 R PRESSURIZABLE CHAMBER1,017,261 12/1952 France .220/55 R [72] Inventor: Georges Thiuet, 26, weEdouard vamam, 490,788 12/1925 Germany .1292/25665 Grenoble (Isa-e)France Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. [22] Filed: Nov. 2, 1970Assistant Examiner-Edwin D. Grant 1 pp NO A 86 182 Attorney-Cameron,Kerkam & Sutton [57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Dam Thecombination of a pressurizable chamber and a closure Nov. 5, 1969 France..6938066 device Comprised of a closure member Operable to close anopening in a wall of the chamber, a sealing member operable 52 U.S. c1...220/ss Y, 49/465, 292/256.65 Seal the P 8 when the member is disposedin 51 1111. C1. ..A47j 36/10 the Penin8 and a plurality of king membersum/able radi- [58] Field of Search 22055 R 55 49/463 ally outwardly ofthe opening so as to lock the closure member against movement outwardlyof the opening due to pressurization of the chamber; the locking memberswhen in their 56] References Cited locking position abutting the closuremember and having portions thereof engaging in corresponding recesses inthat portion of the wall surrounding the opening. The locking membersmay be moved automatically by means of jacks.

5 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures CLOSURE DEVICE FOR SEALING AN OPENING IN AWALL OF A PRESSURIZABLE CHAMBER The invention relates to closure devicesand in particular to the combination of a pressurizable chamber and aclosure device for sealing an opening in a wall of the chamber.

According to the invention, there is provided the combination of apressurizable chamber having an opening in a wall thereof and a devicefor sealing the opening, the device including a closure member forclosing the opening, a sealing member for sealing the opening when theclosure member is in its operative position, and a plurality of lockingmembers movable radially of the opening so as to lock the closure memberagainst movement outwardly of the opening due to pressurization of thechamber, the locking members when in their locking position abutting theclosure member and having portions thereof engaging correspondingrecesses in that portion of the wall surrounding the opening.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of exampleonly with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of the combination of a pressurizedchamber wall and closure device according to the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a part plan looking in the direction of the arrows II II inFIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the combination includes a pressurizedchamber consisting of a wall formed from a number of layers which may becircumferentially reinforced so as to withstand high internal pressures.The chamber wall includes a ring 2 of enlarged thickness and defines acylindrical opening; the ring is secured to the remainder of the wall byany known method, in this case by welding.

A closure device for the opening includes a cylindrical member 3 able towithstand the pressure inside the chamber 1 and freely slidable alongthe axis of the opening due to a clearance 4 left between thecylindrical member and the inner wall of the ring 2. Sealing between themember 3 and the inner wall surface 21 defining the opening is provided,for example, by a resilient cord 5 disposed in a lateral groove 6 of themember 3.

The member 3 has a conical outer surface 7 against which a plurality oflocking members 8 are disposed. The locking members 8 can slide radiallyof the opening along the outer surface 7 of the plug and their profileextending towards the inner surface 21 of the ring 2 is provided with aplurality of notches 9 engaging in corresponding grooves 10 formed inthe surface 21.

When the chamber is pressurized the pressure is taken by the member 3which tends to move out of the opening and thus bears on the grooves 10by means of the locking members 8. In this condition, the pressureeffect is exerted only in the zone bounded by the gasket and the ring 2is dimensionsed only to withstand the background effect. The force istransmitted continuously over a circle formed by the locking members 8.

The profile of the outer surface 7 of the plug and of the notches 9 isso determined that the locking members are held in place simply by theeffect of the pressure applied to the member 3. In the case of FIG. 1,the surface 7 is a frusto-conical surface and the notches are parallelto the surface 7.

When the pressure inside the chamber ceases, the member 3 no longerexerts any force on the locking members 8 and the latter can then bewithdrawn. To this end, the locking members comprise at least twosegments 81 (FIG. 2) spaced apart by gaps i, the facing surfaces 810being parallel. Each gap is provided with a further locking member 82having parallel surfaces and of a width substantially equal to that ofthe gap i; the outer profiles of the segments and of the further lockingmembers comprise identical notches and thus fonn a continuous ring whenall the segments and members are in place. When the pressure ceases, themembers 82 are first removed by sliding in the gaps i and then thesegments 81 can be shified towards the center by a distance slightlygreater than the thickness of the notches 9 so that the member 3 canslide along the opening axis.

When the opening axis is vertical, the locking members are displaced ina substantially horizontal plane and the closure device can then bemoved manually or, for example, by a travelling crane, depending uponthe weight of the device.

When the device has to be moved quickly or when the aperture axis ishorizontal, it is preferable to move the locking members by means of aspecial arrangement, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1.

The member 3 shown in FIG. 1 is moved along the opening axis by means ofa jack 1! pivotally connected to the member 3 and to a fixed point. Twogroups of jacks 181 and 182 are secured to the jack 1 l and one group ispivotally connected to the segments 81 while the other group ispivotally connected to the members 82.

The jacks may be mechanical or hydraulic, hydraulic control enabling therapid and simultaneous movement of the member 82 and segments 81 to beperformed easily.

When the closure device is to be opened, the jacks 182 are actuated towithdraw the members 82 and then the segments 81 are withdrawn by thejacks 181 and the released member 3 can then be lifted by means of thejack 11.

To close the opening, the same operations are carried out in the reversesequence. After the chamber has been pressurized, the locking membersare held in place by the pressure effect and the pressure in the jacks181 and 182 can be released.

In the case of FIG. 1, the jacks 181 are not parallel to the surface 7so that the member 3 has to be displaced towards the interior of thechamber by means of the jack 11 to enable the segments 81 to bewithdrawn. This arrangement provides additional security since the plugcan be displaced only when the pressure inside the chamber is lowenough.

The invention, of course, is not limited to the details of theabove-described embodiment which could be modified without departingfrom the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

For example, the means for controlling the movement of the lockingmembers as described hereinabove may be replaced by any means performingthe same function.

For example, the segments 81 and members 82 could be connected, bylinks, to two sleeves sliding axially one after the other to providesuccessive displacement of the wedges and segments.

Also, the locking members need not necessarily form a continuous ringbut could be spaced apart by a distance sufficient to allow theirsimultaneous radial displacement, the system for controlling thedisplacement of the locking members providing a more rapid displacementof the members 82 than of the segments 81.

In addition, the outer profile of the notches of the locking memberscould be designed to allow them to be disengaged by rotation about theirbase.

Finally, the entire control circuit for the movement of the lockingmembers may, of course, be rendered automatic.

I claim:

1. The combination of a pressurizable chamber having an opening in awall thereof and a device for sealing the opening, the device includinga closure member for closing the opening; a sealing member for sealingthe opening when the closure member is in its operative position, and aplurality of locking members movable radially of the opening so as tolock the closure member against movement outwardly of the opening due topressurization of the chamber, the locking members when in their lockingposition abutting the closure member and having portions thereofengaging corresponding recesses in that portion of the wall surroundingthe opening, the locking members including at least two spaced segmentshaving gaps therebetween each gap being occupied by a further slidablelocking member having parallel side surfaces and of a widthapproximately equal to that of the gap.

2. The combination according to claim 1, and including means forcontrolling the radial movement of the locking members.

and pivotally connected respectively to the further locking members andto the first mentioned members, the two groups of jacks being actuatedsuccessively.

5. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said means is operableto cause a faster displacement of the further members than that of thefirst mentioned members.

mg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE CF CORRECTION Patent No. 3667 649 Dated June 6, 1972 Inventor(s) Georges Thillet It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

' [73] Assignee: B.V.S. Grenoble, France- Signed and sealed this Zhthday of October 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCI*1ER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. The combination of a pressurizable chamber having an opening in awall thereof and a device for sealing the opening, the device includinga closure member for closing the opening; a sealing member for sealingthe opening when the closure member is in its operative position, and aplurality of locking members movable radially of the opening so as tolock the closure member against movement outwardly of the opening due topressurization of the chamber, the locking members when in their lockingposition abutting the closure member and having portions thereofengaging corresponding recesses in that portion of the wall surroundingthe opening, the locking members including at least two spaced segmentshaving gaps therebetween each gap being occupied by a further slidablelocking member having parallel side surfaces and of a widthapproximately equal to that of the gap.
 2. The combination according toclaim 1, and including means for controlling the radial movement of thelocking members.
 3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein saidmeans is operable to successively cause the displacement of each furtherslidable locking member and then the displacement of the first mentionedlocking members to enable the closure member to be removed from theopening.
 4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein said meansincludes two groups of jacks connected to a fixed point and pivotallyconnected respectively to the further locking members and to the firstmentioned members, the two groups of jacks being actuated successively.5. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said means is operableto cause a faster displacement of the further members than that of thefirst mentioned members.